Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that nearly 45% of African-Americans reported low trust in healthcare providers compared with almost 34% of whites, according to the results of a survey of 954 people published in the April issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Among African-Americans, those who had fewer quality interactions with healthcare providers were about three times more likely to report low trust compared with those with more quality interactions. Also, African-Americans who obtained medical care at facilities other than a physician's office were most likely to report low trust. Among whites, respondents without health insurance and those with fewer annual healthcare visits were most likely to report low trust in healthcare providers. "Part of the challenge before us is to determine whether these lower levels of trust are associated with other indicators of differential provider ability, including cultural competence," author Oscar Gandy said.
